StupidMonkeyBeSpankinIt

Everyone and their hot lil sister want to have 350 + hp on a drift or drag car. I see this all to often as people find a new hobby or fad, or simply are passionate about such hobby, but then, lack the patience to really dig in, and do their research and invest for the long haul. As mentioned prior to my post, there are many factors you need to consider if you wish to have a fun toy...

main thing I consider when building a project, is determining what it will be used for. next is the budget I have to invest into it, to achieve that goal.

The ka24de is a strong engine. it is NOT a motor. motors indicate electrical, engine is mechanical. At least start by learning the correct technical nomenclature.

you can invest as little or as much into the engine as possible, depending on how deep your pockets are. what is it you are going to do with it? you are going to have a 400 hp daily driver? youll dump 2500 in the engine before you know it. Priority is important. No sense in buying forged pistons and connecting rods, when you dont even balance the crankshaft, line bore and hone, deburr and clean the other parts... Ideally, it is a very bad idea to half ass anything that is mechanical, so start by taking a big breathe and be patient. The more patient you are now, the more satisfied you will be in the end, when it is all done right, and you dont throw a rod thru your hood.

Start small, stick to your goal. budget should be the last concern as far as priority. if you dont have $ to invest, then dont build a toy. set aside 2500-5000 bucks to get you started, and take that amount and prioritize your upgrades. This is why car tuners work in stages... stage one, two, three, and so on. You cant put stage three parts in a stage one block and expect to have a reliable hot rod. its just unrealistic.

start over, take your budget, goal, and a list of priorities, and start from there. For a DD hot rod, start with some wheels, tires, brakes, some suspension, maybe seats, shift knob, or ecu modifications with exhaust and intake upgrades. to start. keep it simple, again.

If you are looking to keep price low as possible I suggest finding an engine, that is already built, for you to swap. Investing a grand into machine work on the block is not likely your budget route.... but machining can get expensive, along with labor and high quality parts, and a thing Ive noticed over the years is, the more expensive the parts in the project, the more expensive the repairs can be, and labor to set up properly. It takes time, and tuning, and dyno tests, etc... its all experience you are getting when you go to a tune shop. best to start doing your homework now, which will only serve you in the long haul. unless ofc you are jsut looking for a 400 hp car you can ride in, just buy one set up that way. thats my .02 about that. the best way to increase power from a non turbo N/A engine is to keep it N/A, when you are on a budget. turbos, timers, boost controllers, intercoolers, all add up fast, and before you know it, your past the cost of a set of good cams, an ecu, intake and exhaust, which you could have done otherwise. Turbo on a N/A engine takes a bit of work, is what I mean, for one the engine is DESIGNED for non turbo. with out blowing your motor you said and keep it as cheap as possible, lol yea... good luck there. not saying its impossible, but I get the feeling you are NOT a mechanic or experienced person with mechanical.

why not just slap on some nitro and get your fix as you need, and save a bit of $. last time I checked, it was a bit cheaper to add nitro compared to a turbo setup. both can be done safely to add efficiency to a car or more hp, but you target a certain hp not for the faint of heart. Your Engine will need some serious love and work. so just sit tight. trust me, if you listen to the guys on this forum and keep it cool, youll be much happier in the end, when you are driving down the strip with your friends and you dont blow your shit up...

simple things:
forged is better that cast, so dont buy cheap connecting rods or pistons. and find pistons with a lower level of silicon in them... Id like you to find out why that is, especially when you are considering turboing your non turbo engine. did you know that turbo engines have less compression that N/A engines? do you know why this is? do you know to what HP it is acceptable NOT to buy a standalone ecu.? what are you going to tune it with? got a laptop and nistune? do you even have a garage you can store your project in and work on it late nights for months with your friends? and youll want to run high octane in your car dude... why buy the cheap shit? its the chemical reaction from the petro that gives you the power. 12 psi is a good bit of pressure for a N/A engine as well... best read up son. there are tons of great technical sections, articles, and how toos on this site alone, let alone what you can find on google. example, today I found the entire fsm for each s chassis from 89-98 and dl'd them to my hd. do you have your fsm and have you even looked at it? things to consider is all. Dont take it personal, hope im not rude, but im honest, you gotta read up, and do your research.

best of luck. im rambling cause its late and i really need to go to bed.